Ronan’s POV

The corridor was empty when I passed it, but the air wasn’t.

Most people think scent disappears as soon as the body does. They don’t understand how dominance sharpens perception. How silence amplifies the things no one else notices. Arden wasn’t there, but a trace of him was; the faintest undertone, almost erased.

I slowed my steps halfway down the hall, listening. No footsteps behind me. No movement ahead. Just artificial lighting humming above and the sterility of ...